Socket



G. H. BURT April 21, 1942.

`SOCKET v Filed Feb. 21, 1941 2 Shee ts-Sheet l LA ,4. aal/3m IN VENTOR. Gary .H B15/ BY www A TTORNEYS.

April 21, 1942. G H BURT 2,280,747

SOCKET A Filed Feb. 2l, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN1/EN Tim ATTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 21, 1942 I UNITED STATES lPATENTV OFFICE SOCKET Guy H.Burt, Edgewood, R. I.

Application February 21, 1941, Serial No. 380,023

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a device for holding a fluorescent lamp andalso the starter thereof; and has for one of its objects to provide acombination socket for both the lamp and the starter which will enable asimple and easy installation.

Another object of the invention is to provide an indication of thedirection in which the lamp is to be moved to remove the lamp from thesocket.

Another object of the invention is to provide resilient gripping armsfor the starter which will enable the contacts of the starter to bepositively gripped completely independent of the base in which they aremounted.

Another object of the invention is to provide a contact in the starterbase which will grip the contact of the starter even though the base maybe cracked, chipped or mutilated in and about the parts which supportthe contact in the base.

Another object of the inventionis'to provide a starter socket which willnot loosen its hold upon the starter contacts even though the same besubjected to vibration or shock.

Another object of the invention is to provide for a simple installationof the starter by rotating the starter through a small arc to positivelylock the same in position.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction, as will be more fully described, andparticularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an improved larrip socket with aIragmental portion o1' a lamp shown in dotted lines therein; l

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the lamp holder;

Fig. 3 is a rear plan view of the starter base section;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 with the starter removed fromposition:

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is an elevation of thestarter; and Fig. '7 is a plan view of the resilient contact grippingarms removed from the base.

Fig. 8 is a face view of a starter unit; Fig. 9 is a view similar toFig. 3 but illustrating a different form o! contact members;

Fig. 10 is a section on line I0-I0 of Fig. 9; and

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of one of the contact members shown inFig. 9.

In the use of fluorescent lighting, it is necessary in addition to theproviding of a socket for the lamp to provide a starter in order thatillumination may occur, and I have provided sockets for both lamp andstarter in one unit. When the lamp is in position covering the socket inwhich it is inserted, it is diiiicult for one to know in which directionto move the lamp to remove it from the socket. In order that this may beovercome I have provided visible means indicating the direction in whichthe lamp must be moved for removing it from the socket. In order thatthe starter may be positively held even though chipping or rupture ofits base may have occurred, I have provided a pair oi arms forresiliently gripping each contact of the starter and mounted theseindependently in the base; and the following is a more detaileddescription of the present embodiment of this invention, illustratingthe preferred means by which these advantageous results may beaccomplished:

With reference to the drawings, I0 designates the starter base sectionand II, the lamp base section. These two sections each consist of someinsulating material and are held together in generally right-angularrelation by suitable bolts.

The starter base section I0 is provided with recesses I2 and I3 on oneside with holes I4 and I5 connecting with the recess I6 on the otherside. In the recess I2 I have provided a contact I1, while a similarcontact Il is also provided in the recess I3. Each of these contacts I1consists of a piece of resilient wire bent to provide a pair of arms I8and I9 extending from a connecting bridge portion 20. The arm I9 is bentoutwardly asv at 2I to provide a notch 22, while the arm I8 is bentinwardly to provide a projection 23, both sufficiently conned by reasonof the spacing of the arms I8 and I9 so as to grip the contact which maybe moved into the notch 22 and be held in this position against both ofthe arms by the inclined portion 24 of the projection 23.- The arm I9 isalso bent inwardly as at 25 so as to receive the unrecessed portion 28of the base, and provide a fulcrum point for the arm I9. A piece ofsheet stock 21 is secured to the connecting portion 20 such, forinstance, as by solder or welding and provides a suitable connection forthe screw 28 which may be threaded thereinto. The contact in the recessI3 has a little differently shaped sheet stock connected thereto, therebeing an arm 29 extending from the sheet stock member 30 seated inanother recess 3| in this base section. There is also a correspondingsheet stock member 32 seated in the companion recess 33 in the base. Acover 34 may be secured in position by means of suitable Iastenings 35to cover the contacts in their recesses I2 and Il.

-In Figs. 9, 10 and 11, I have illustrated the contacts as each cut outof a single piece of sheet stock rather than folded from wire and bentas heretofore described. The contacts are designated generally I1' andeach (see Fig. 11) consists of a sheet of stock cut out to provide apair of arms Il and I9' joined as at 20 with an opening between them.The shaping of the arms provides notches 22' in the arm I8'1and I9' backof projections 23' with the surfaces of these notches and projections sospaced as to spring apart as a contact is forced between the projectionto locate in the notches and grip a contact which may be' moved intothese notches and held in this position by the resilience of the arms.The sheets of stock from which this construction is cut are bent as at25 to provide portion 26', and one of the contacts is then bent again atright angles as at 21 where a slot 28' is provided for the reception ofthe. screw 53. The otherarm has a screw 28 provided in its downwardlyextending portion 26 to which a lead wire may be connected. Each ofthese contacts is located in the same recesses I 2 and I3 as are thecontacts previously described, while the other parts of the assembly arethe same in this modification as previously described. This arrangement;illustrates that the contacts may be made of a single piece of stock ina different manner; and in fact, in this arrangement even the connectingplates may be of the same piece of stock as the contact arms, thuseliminating the necessity of attaching the plates by soldering orwelding to the arms such as is necessary in the showing in Figs. 3 and4.

The starter, designated 36, has a pair of contacts 31 and 38 projectingtherefrom. The socket I6 is of a size to receive the cylindrical portion36 of the starter, while the contacts 31 and 38 may be passed throughthe larger portion of the openings I4 and I5. These openings narrow inthe portions I4 and I5' and are of such shape as to permit turning ofthe starter through a small arc after the contacts 31 and 38 are passedthrough the larger portion of the openings I4 and I5 so that thesecontacts will move into the smaller portion of the openings I4 and I5.As the contacts pass through the larger portion of the openings I4 andI5, they also pass through the larger portion 39, 39 between each of thearms, but as turning occurs through this small arc, the contacts moveinto the smaller portion between the arms and each contact will enterthe notch 22, 22 snapping by the projection 23, 423 so that the inclinedwall 2i, 24' of the projection 23, 23 will hold the contact in thenotches 22, 22. The recess 4|J in each of the contacts 31 and 38 willengage the rounded portion of the wire i1 or edge of the sheet stock ofthe contact I1 of the spring arms and will together with the undercutShanks extending beneath the Wall V4| hold the starter in its socket.

The lamp socket base II has recesses -45 and 48 in which there arecontacts 41 and 48. The contact 41 has an L-shaped portion reinforced bya plate 49, and the contact 48 has an L-shaped portion reinforced by aplate 50. These l..shaped portions with their reinforcements extendacross the ends of the recesses and are located in slots 5| and 52 forthe mounting of these spring arms in position. Bolts 53 and 54 extendthrough the plates 30 and 32 to bind the starter base section and thelamp base section together, while pro-- viding electrical connectionbetween them. Channels 55 and 56 extend from the end of the base I Iinwardly, longitudinally and then laterally to provide sockets 51 and 58for the reception of contact pins on the end of the fluorescent tube 59.

In operation it is merely necessary to position the two pins in thechannels 55 and 56, the pin in channel 55 forcing the end 80 of thecontact 41 to the right, as shown in Fig, 2, as it moves into its seat51 which at the same time moves the pin entering channel 56 over againstthe contact end 6I of the spring arm 48 so that firm engagement wm behad.

lWhen the tube 59 is in position and covers the seats, one cannotobserve the direction in which the tube must be moved for disconnection;and accordinglyV in order that the direction of the channels from thesockets 51 and 58 can be determined, they are designated by a marker 62(see Fig. 1).

Wires leading to this unit will be to connection 28 with a circuitpassing therefrom through the starter into contacts and socket I3,thence to and through the bolt 53, through the light and out throughbolt 54, plate 32 and thence out through a wire in channel 83. Thechannel 63 and terminal 28 are thus both on the same side of the unit,for the convenience of making connection thereof.4

I claim:

A contact element comprising a sheet metal body portion having a pair ofsheet metal arms lying in a common plane and extending from the bodywith free ends, both of said arms being enlarged at their free ends, oneof said arms being straight and the other of said arms being arcuate inshape and directed away from the straight arm as it extends from thebody and then approaching the free end of the straight arm to sprovide arelatively large opening adjacent the juncture of the arms with the bodyand a more restricted space between the arms along their free endportions, said space being so restricted as to cause the bordering edgesto grip a pin when positioned in said space, and notches in the. edgesof said arms along said restricted space, the edges of said arms formingsaid opening being curved to guide the movement of a pin positioned insaid opening tov the restricted space between said arms.

GUY H. BURT.

